“Excessive inflammatory responses are involved in secondary brain injury during germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH). The process of microglial polarization to the pro-inflammatory M1 or anti-inflammatory M2 phenotypes is considered to occur in a major immunomodulatory manner during brain inflammation.
We previously found that cannabinoid receptor-2 (CB2R) stimulation attenuated microglial accumulation and brain injury following experimental GMH.
Herein, we investigated the effects of CB2R stimulation on neuroinflammation after experimental GMH and the potential mechanisms that mediate M1/M2 microglial phenotype regulation.
This is the first study to propose that promotion of microglial M2 polarization through the cAMP/PKA pathway participates in the CB2R-mediated anti-inflammatory effects after GMH induction.
The results will help to further understand the mechanisms that underlie neuroprotection by CB2R in GMH and promote clinical translational research for CB2R agonists.”